Tolerance of CD8+ cells was examined in parent-->F1 bone marrow chimeras (BMC) prepared with supralethal irradiation; host class I expression in the chimeras was limited to non-BM-derived cells. In terms of helper-independent proliferative responses in vitro and induction of graft-vs.-host disease on adoptive transfer, CD8+ cells from long-term chimeras showed profound tolerance to host antigens irrespective of whether the cells were prepared from the thymus or from spleen or lymph nodes. By limiting dilution analysis, cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) precursors specific for host antigens were rare in the extrathymic lymphoid tissues. In the thymus, by contrast, host-specific CTL precursors were only slightly less frequent than in normal parental strain mice. These host-specific CD8+ cells survived when BMC thymocytes were transferred intravenously to a neutral environment, i.e., to donor strain mice. When transferred to further BMC hosts, however, most of the host-reactive cells disappeared. Collectively, the data suggest that tolerance of CD8+ cells in BMC hosts occurs in both the intrathymic and extrathymic environments. In the thymus, contact with host antigens on thymic epithelial cells deletes CD8+ cells controlling helper-independent proliferative responses and in vivo effector functions but spares typical helper-dependent CTL precursors. After export from the thymus, most of the CTL precursors are eliminated after contacting host antigens on stromal cells in the extrathymic environment.
Article|
February 01 1993
Tolerance of CD8+ T cells developing in parent-->F1 chimeras prepared with supralethal irradiation: step-wise induction of tolerance in the intrathymic and extrathymic environments.
H Kosaka
Department of Immunology, Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037.
J Sprent
Department of Immunology, Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037.
Online ISSN: 1540-9538
Print ISSN: 0022-1007
J Exp Med (1993) 177 (2): 367–378.
Citation
H Kosaka, J Sprent; Tolerance of CD8+ T cells developing in parent-->F1 chimeras prepared with supralethal irradiation: step-wise induction of tolerance in the intrathymic and extrathymic environments.. J Exp Med 1 February 1993; 177 (2): 367–378. doi: https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.177.2.367
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